News – 2015

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On Saturday, Chris Copeland returned to Bankers Life Fieldhouse. He was dressed in the rival’s colors of green and white and sat in a corner of the visitor’s locker room. Still, Copeland remembered the warm hospitality from the Indiana Pacers and how the team offered facilities and resources to him at a time when they could have considered him a stranger.

Last April, Copeland suffered injuries to his abdomen and left elbow in a stabbing attack outside of a New York City nightclub. The incident left him briefly hospitalized and effectively ended his season. Though Copeland apologized for “bad choices” – the attack occurred in the wee hours of a game day – it would stand as the last significant event of his Pacers career as he entered the summer as an unrestricted free agent.

Still, over the offseason, Copeland remained in Indianapolis for physical rehabilitation with the Pacers’ athletic staff.

“I was just blessed to have guys like Larry Bird and the training staff who stuck with me way past when they had to,” Copeland said. “Legally by July 1 they’re not obligated to do anything, but those guys took care of me. They did more than they needed to. That’s why I’m forever in their debt. I appreciate the type of people that I was (around) for the last two years.”

Copeland described the rehabilitation process as taking months, and even now he undergoes some “tweaking” but remains healthy enough to play in his fourth NBA season. Though the front office made no attempt to re-sign Copeland, the team still extended to him its training staff, which includes head athletic trainer Josh Corbeil, strength and conditioning coach Shawn Windle and assistant athletic trainer Carl Eaton. This courtesy would be hard to find in professional sports where the focus begins and ends at the bottom line.

“Everybody chipped in and helped me in my rehab process,” said Copeland, who also credited the interns. “I couldn’t have done it by myself, so I appreciate that.”

Coach Frank Vogel was pleased to see Copeland healthy and in uniform for Saturday’s game. Vogel said it was important to him, and the rest of the organization, that Copeland was given all the resources necessary to make a quick recovery.

“You just want to do the right thing with guys,” Vogel said. “He was part of our family when he was on our team. He didn’t know what was going to happen with free agency, but we just wanted to treat our players the right way.”

Copeland played most of the fourth quarter during the Pacers’ dominating 123-86 win over the Bucks. Copeland had not played in three of the previous four games. That’s because in Milwaukee, the minutes belong to the youth. With players like 20-year-olds Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker, the small forward who bumped Copeland out of the rotation, Jason Kidd coaches a roster full of fresh talent, the fourth youngest in the NBA at an average of 24.4 years of age. So in the Bucks locker room, Copeland finds himself as a wily old veteran.

“It’s a super weird feeling but it’s cool, especially to be around at this stage in my career,” said Copeland, 31. “J Kidd expressed to me that he wants me to talk about my experiences on and off the floor. I try to guide guys in ways that I can. Typical older guy stuff. I just try to be that guy as much as possible.”

Atlanta, Georgia (July 30, 2015) – Bauerfeind, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of medical products including orthopedic braces and supports for every joint and the back, as well as compression socks and insoles, announces a partnership with the National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association (NBATA).

As part of the multi-year partnership, Bauerfeind will be the Official Brace of NBATA and the NBATA will endorse Bauerfeind’s medical functional support, brace and compression therapy products.

“This is a natural, organic partnership since the NBATA has been a Bauerfeind customer since 2003 when we started with one team buying the GenuTrain knee brace,” said Kevin Johnson, NBATA Chairman and Head Athletic Trainer for the Philadelphia 76ers. “Today, 27 teams purchase a variety of Bauerfeind products and this formal partnership brings together two organizations who are dedicated to providing the best sports medical care solutions for professional basketball athletes.”

Bauerfeind will launch Trainer Talk where NBATA trainers will share their inside knowledge and experiences on Bauerfeind.com. Topics will include how to get the most out of your workouts and brace features and benefits such as medical grade compression, proprioception, increased compliance, and durability. The NBATA trainers will also share content with Bauerfeind USA consumers that will help them get the most out of the company’s products.

“Bauerfeind’s medical and sports heritage aligns with the NBATA’s medical and sports athletic training and expertise,” said Gregory J. Vaughn, M.D., CEO at Bauerfeind USA. “NBATA trainers work with the best athletes in the world and this partnership allows us to bring their medical and athletic training, knowledge and expertise to our consumers.”

For more information on the NBATA partnership or to purchase Bauerfeind products, visit www.bauerfeind.com .

About Bauerfeind

Founded in Germany in 1929, Bauerfeind AG is one of the leading manufacturers of medical products including orthopedic braces and supports for every joint and the back, as well as compression socks and insoles. Every single Bauerfeind product is made in Germany and is designed to help people live fulfilling, active lives, at any age.

Top athletes and trainers across the world put their trust in the outstanding quality of Bauerfeind products. The company has been an official supplier of the German Olympic teams from 2002 to 2010 with a service team on hand at the Summer and Winter Games. Since 2010, the company has won each call for tenders and has been a partner of the Olympic Organizational Committees as the exclusive supplier of braces and supports to all participating nations.

Bauerfeind AG is a family-run company with 2,000 employees worldwide and subsidiaries in more than 20 countries, including Bauerfeind USA which was founded in 1985 in Kennesaw, GA and recently relocated to midtown Atlanta. Bauerfeind products are available at medical supply retailers, sports specialty retailers and on www.bauerfeind.com.

About NBATA

The National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association (NBATA) is a professional organization of highly skilled certified athletic trainers who provide specialized health care and critical support services to the athletes and organizations of the National Basketball Association.

Following 33 NBA seasons, 15 with Utah, Briggs to worked his final game April 13, 2015

SALT LAKE CITY (April 13, 2015) – Utah Jazz Head Athletic Trainer Gary Briggs, who has overseen the team’s training staff for the last 15 seasons, will retire following the conclusion of the 2014-15 NBA campaign. By season’s end, Briggs will have worked 3,013 of a possible 3,014 preseason, regular season and postseason games over his career, which originally began with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He will be recognized during tonight’s final Jazz home game against Dallas.

“While we may be losing a valued member of our day-to-day operations, Gary Briggs will forever remain a member of the Jazz family,” said Randy Rigby, president of the Jazz. “We have been very fortunate to have ‘Briggsy’ on our staff these past 15 years. He’s become a valued member of the community and we’ve enjoyed watching his family grow in our state.”

Briggs joined Utah in September of 2000, becoming only the third head athletic trainer in franchise history. Previously he spent 18 seasons with Cavaliers (1982-2000) where he was voted the 1999 Athletic Trainer of the Year. He also served as the head athletic trainer for the Eastern Conference at the 1995 and 1997 NBA All-Star Games.

“Gary has been one of the longest tenured and most respected trainers in the NBA,” said General Manager Dennis Lindsey. “He’s a consummate professional who will be greatly missed by our organization. On behalf of the franchise, we congratulate Gary on an incredible career and thank him and his family for their dedication to the Jazz.”

A native of Long Beach, Calif., Briggs began his athletic training career as a student assistant at the University of Florida. Prior to working in the NBA, he spent time at Morehead State University and Troy University. His wife of 32 years, Sue, teaches English at Salt Lake Community College and he has two daughters, Ashley and Courtney who both live in the greater Salt Lake area.

About the Utah Jazz
Founded as the 18th member of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1974, and located in Salt Lake City since 1979, the Utah Jazz are committed to excellence as a team and in the community. On the court, the Jazz are the third-winningest team in the NBA over the last 30 years, having won eight division titles and two Western Conference championships along with 14 seasons of 50-plus wins, and are supported by one of the most passionate fan bases in all of sports. Away from the court, the Jazz are very active in the local community and have assisted a multitude of organizations and worthy causes by way of charitable donations, service and grants through Larry H. Miller Charities. The Utah Jazz also operate the Junior Jazz program, the largest and longest-running youth basketball league in the NBA, featuring more than 50,000 players and an additional 13,000 volunteers who take part annually across seven states. For more information on the Utah Jazz, visit www.utahjazz.com.